Best of CLE Spotlight

Recognizing Outstanding Leadership and Dedication to MoBarCLE

Hon. Jerry W. Venters
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri

Through his numerous presentations at MoBarCLE seminars, the Honorable Jerry W. Venters has provided Missouri attorneys with outstanding continuing legal education in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial law.

Judge Venters earned his Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1965 and Juris Doctor degree in 1976 from the University of Missouri. From 1965 to 1973, he was a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and while in law school served as the Missouri Supreme Court’s first public information officer. From 1976 until his appointment as a Bankruptcy Judge, Judge Venters was engaged in the private practice of law in Jefferson City, Missouri, specializing in a bankruptcy practice, representing both creditors and debtors. Judge Venters was appointed February 1, 1999, by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals as a Bankruptcy Judge for the Western District of Missouri. He served as Chief Judge 2004-2008. He also served as a member of the Eighth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.

Along with being a perennial speaker at the Annual Bankruptcy Institute, Judge Venters has also spoken at the Annual Government Practice Institute and at other seminars on the topic of debtor-creditor relations. He also authored chapters in the Bankruptcy Practice and Creditors’ Remedies deskbooks.

Judge Venters will be retiring from the bench on January 31, 2013. We thank him for his many years of service and dedication to the Missouri Bar and congratulate him on his retirement.